Is this Schiphol’s redemption arc? Now the airport is going green! Many of its shops are quitting selling those toxic, disposable plastic water bottles.
Frequenters of Schiphol also are used to witnessing a sea of plastic water bottle shelves in the retail group Schiphol Airport Retail (SAR).
Yet hoera! Gone are the dark days of paying €6 euros for a half litre of Spa Blauw water! 🥴
At least 12 airport shops are almost immediately bidding adieu to selling plastic water bottles, according to NU.nl.
A few other retailers will still be selling a few scant plastic water bottles here and there — *cough* traitors.
The result? Approximately 750,000 fewer water bottles will be mindlessly wasted and end up in landfill.
This eco-friendly project is happening in collaboration with Dutch water bottle manufacturer Dopper — you know, that bottle you see all the Dutchies carrying? That’s the one.
Did you drink enough water today? 🤔
Instead of plastic waste, there’s a push to take your own reusable water bottle through security — which you can do at Schiphol, even when it’s filled with water.
Drank it all already? You go hydro homie! Luckily, there’s a push to include even more refill stations on the other side. 💧
Don’t forget, if you have a metal or insulated bottle, it should be emptied before passing through the scanner.
Sunday Airport Water Share: Because not all airports have them (#truth).
— Cristina Alcivar (@CrisAlcivar) January 21, 2019
Schiphol doesn't just have a few places to fill up your water bottle, they have a total of 80 water refilling stations throughout the airport.
So you're never far from hydration. Amazing!
PHOTO: @Schiphol pic.twitter.com/uQRtUEYnI7
Refilling bottles: yay or nee?
NU.nl’s commenters had some mixed opinions, with some saying we’re sacrificing “hygiene” for the sake of “environmentalism”.
They added that people would be forced to “fill your bottle in the toilet” (we’re assuming they mean the sink, not the actual toilet) at airports abroad without the same pristine water fountains.
Someone else chimed in, arguing that purchasing a new water bottle every trip is “overshooting the mark”, and that you might be able to “borrow” an empty water bottle when you’re there even if you forget to bring one…whatever that means. 🙂
Dopper CEO Virginia Yanquilevich, on the other hand, claims that bringing a water bottle should be second nature to all, and as instinctual as “taking your phone and passport with you”.
Besides, not destroying the planet is always fun. 🤗 🌱
Do you feel that bringing an empty water bottle is always a must? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
I am in favour of this, but I couldn’t find a bottle filling station in Departures 3 last Sunday. No signs, nothing on the Schiphol app. Frustrating.